


there is a light that never goes out

by kunfucious



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Drabble, Found Family, M/M, Roadtrip, Running away from home, Songfic, but its not really angsty, donghyuck is having a hard time and johnny offers an ear, i might have been tipsy writing this, johnny! taxi driver lol, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunfucious/pseuds/kunfucious
Summary: Donghyuck needs to get away, and Johnny is the cab driver willing to take him anywhere.a drabble songfic loosely based on the song by the Smiths.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Kudos: 21





	there is a light that never goes out

The amber rays of sun set the backseat of the cab ablaze as Donghyuck jumped in hastily, slamming the car door behind him. 

“Where to?” The cabby greeted cheerfully. A little too cheerfully. Donghyuck’s leg bounced at a constant pace, like a metronome of anxious nerves. 

“Take me anywhere, I don’t care,” he replied hastily.

“What? Why would you call a cab if you didn’t know where you were going?” The driver turned in his seat to face him. He was a pretty boy, and didn’t look to be much older than Donghyuck. 

“You look too young for a cab driver.”

“You look too old to be running away from home, but here we are.”

The guy had a quick tongue that could rival his own, he’d give him that.

The man tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in thought, before finally setting the car in motion. “How do you feel about Busan? I bet the beach is lovely this time of year.”

“Busan?! That’s like a 5 hour drive! I don’t have that much money.”

“It’ll give us plenty of time to get to know each other. And don’t worry about the money. It’s on the house.”

“But why?”

He paused for a while. “Because… you seem like a good kid. And you seem like you really need to get away. So let’s ride.”

  
  


They rode in silence for a while, until Donghyuck’s curiosity got the best of him. 

“How did you know I was running away from home?”

“I’m a psychic.” He deadpanned, waiting for some sort of reaction from Donghyuck who was not entirely amused. “...tough crowd.” He cleared his throat, starting again. “I’ve been doing this job for a while, gotten good at reading people. You have that rebellious teenage energy.”

“You say that like we’re not practically the same age.”

The driver took a good look at Donghyuck before returning his eyes to the road ahead. “I guess we are. I’ve always been mature for my age. Then again, when you have a hard life, you gotta grow up sooner or later. I’m sure you would know something about that. So what’s your story kid?”

“It’s not ‘kid,’ it’s Donghyuck.”

“Nice to meet you Hyuck, I’m Johnny.”

“It’s just Donghyuck. I just met you… we’re not on a nickname basis yet.”

“Relax kid. No one’s gonna hurt you now.” Johnny smiled back radiantly. The kind of smile that felt like you could trust him with your deepest darkest secrets. Donghyuck was too tired to keep up his walls, and when someone as charming as this guy welcomes you in, he frankly didn’t care anymore about keeping his sob story to himself.

“I never want to go home” he began. He could see Johnny’s eyes flick to look at him through the rearview mirror, patiently listening. “Because I haven't got one, anymore.” He sighed out, holding back the tears that were still fresh in his eyes.

“Well the good thing about that is you don’t have to. The world is so huge, you can go anywhere you want. I’ll take you there, cabbie’s honor.”

Donghyuck snorted a laugh despite himself. “I guess you’re right about that.” 

“Look, in all seriousness, you should probably go back eventually. Your parents will be worried sick.”

“That’s the thing. I know they don’t. They were always too busy to ever care about me. The only one who ever did was my grandma. She died an hour ago. Leukemia. That damn bitch, she had to leave me behind...”

He looked out the window as the sun set over the horizon, lighting up the jumble of traffic in front of them. The taillights of the cars ahead as they went up the hills formed a ruby cascade, their glow getting brighter as the sky began to fade. Donghyuck always liked the nighttime, the way the city lights always weaved themselves into beautiful webs of color. Life was weaving a tapestry right in front of him, as if to remind him that there’s still so much to live for. The nighttime would soothe his sorrows soon. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Johnny replied so softly he almost didn’t catch it. “I bet she would’ve wanted you to be happy living your life doing what you wanted though.” 

He offered Donghyuck the aux cord, who immediately plugged his Michael Jackson playlist.

“Dude, seriously? I feel like I’m on a roadtrip with my mom.” Johnny mimed snatching Donghyuck’s phone away from him, the latter smacking his hand away playfully. 

“Fine, what do you want to listen to then?”

“...Britney,” he muttered underneath his breath.

“Hmm… not what I was expecting. I thought you would go for alt, or 80s music or something. But that works.”

They rolled the windows down, letting the cool evening breeze chill their faces as they relaxed into the music pounding out of the car speakers. Funny how the music helped drown out the noise in Donghyuck’s head. Singing along to the songs together, it was like Donghyuck and Johnny had been friends for years, reminiscing over the old days. It felt like home in a way Donghyuck hadn’t known in a long time. Maybe home wasn’t a place, but a feeling for him. 

The city streets began paving way to the coastal highways. The ocean waves crashed against the shore not far from the road, the grounding sound filling his ears in the blank space between songs. The sun had completely disappeared from the sky by now, stars beginning to peek out from their hiding places up above.

“Should we hop out for a bit and walk around?” Johnny spoke suddenly, pointing to a road sign indicating a rest stop in the next few kilometers. 

Donghyuck looked toward the approaching stop, and nodded silently. Johnny pulled the car off and they parked, setting off to walk along the beach.

Donghyuck immediately darted into the ocean, jumping over the waves like they were hurdles, attempting to drag Johnny in after him.

“You’re such a child!”

“C’mon, we came this far, you might as well come in the water!”

“It’s freezing!”

“You were the one who suggested going to the beach in the middle of January,” Donghyuck snapped back.

After Donghyuck had his fair share of frolicking in the surf, they both sat down on the strip, burying their feet in the sand. The moon was full and bright, casting a silver glow on the rippling ocean waves.

“It’s so funny,” Johnny began. “I’ve seen the ocean a million times. I could care less about going in it, but I can’t help how welcoming it looks.”

Donghyuck hummed in agreement. “I think the ocean is kind of like life. We may feel tethered to the same spot, but we still have the freedom to move. I think the ocean feels so comforting because it’s stagnant and moving at the same time. Like starting a new cycle.”

Johnny looked at Donghyuck in amazement. “I thought I was gonna be the one offering the deep commentary on life.”

They both chuckled, taking in the feeling of the quiet night, nothing but the sound of waves and their own breaths breaking the silence.

  
  


“I guess you could say I don’t have a home either,” Johnny suddenly spoke. “I live quite the nomadic life. I guess that’s why I wanted to become a taxi driver. Always going somewhere new, seeing different parts of the world and different people. It may sound stupid but it makes my life feel more interesting.”

“It’s not stupid,” Donghyuck reassured. 

“Thanks for sharing your story with me.”

“Thanks for keeping me company long enough to listen to it.”

“The pleasure-- no, the privilege is mine.”

Just like the moon held the tides in a constant to-and-fro, Donghyuck thought about how people like Johnny naturally drew people to him. As he got to spend more time with Johnny, he realized that was exactly the person that he wanted to keep near him. He began to wish their late night road trip had no final destination, and would somehow bring them both to new places, and new people, and make their lives just a little bit brighter.


End file.
